Skip to main content

Portable Digital TVs for after the June 20 Digital Television switch-over


Speaking with my friend Michael today, He reminded me that the digital television switch over is going to occur on June 20, 2009 and many older televisions will stop receiving "over-the-air" television signals.

Anyone who is getting their television signals over cable, AT&T uVerse, Satellite and other methods will still be able to watch their shows. It only effects television delivered via an antenna.

I know from my travels that very few of my clients are in danger of losing their television service, but I have always had another concern about this switchover. Throughout the years, we have always been reminded to have a battery operated radio or television in case of weather, or in California, earthquake, emergency.

Unfortunately, all of the small televisions we have around our house will not receive any signal after June 20. I hadn't seen any prominent advertising for newer, portable TVs so I finally decided to go looking for them.

Amazon.com lists a number of portable digital TVs with ATSC tuners that will receive the new digital television signals. The smallest size seems to be 7", but there are 9" and 10" models available, too. Most operate on AC or DC current and some come with car adapters, too. Some offer rechargeable battery packs, although at least one said it could not be recharged through the car charger, so you would eventually have to use your car battery as a primary power source after a few hours.

Here are the features to look for when purchasing a new portable digital TV:

  • ATSC digital tuner
  • Battery powered (Rechargeable or traditional)
  • Runs off 120V house power
  • Runs off 12V car power with adapter
Link: Amazon.com: Portable Digital TVs
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Comments

Unknown said…
Pinnacle also sells ATSC and ATSC HD tuners with tuner and DVR software for PC and Mac. Google for a good deal.

Can use either coax in for signal, or an included stand up antenna with your laptop or desktop computer to receive on air digital TV.

Note that in LA I have not be able to get a signal over the air, but it works fine when I connect the coax from cable to the device.

Popular posts from this blog

Elsewhere Online: AT&T's Spam Filter Gets A Bit Too Aggressive

This story from TechDirt lays out yet another reason I recommend that folks DON'T use the email provided to them by their ISP. My typical recommendation right now is to get a Gmail account instead. It also points out why I want to manage all my SPAM on my end, without pre-filtering from an ISP. I will gladly manage my spam if it helps to insure that I see as many of my "real" messages as possible. Again, Gmail's tools work pretty good in this regard. Having an alternative email account also insures you will keep the same email, even if you decide to leave your current ISP. Witness all the folks holding onto AOL accounts just to keep their AOL email address. Thank goodness at least that is free now. AT&T's Spam Filter Gets A Bit Too Aggressive You can certainly understand why ISPs offer spam filters. It's a service for users who don't want to be totally bombarded with spam. But what I've never understood is that these ISPs rarely give the user a

On my iPhone…IFTTT (If This Then That) for iOS

IFTTT (If This Then That) for iOS IFTTT (If This Then That) for iOS My best description of IFTTT, both their main web site, and this new iOS app is "a scripting language for the We." It allows you to set up "recipes" that watch one particular service, like Feedly, Evernote, Gmail and more, and then take action on another service whenever a particular action occurs. I use this to automatically save my shared items from Feedly and elsewhere into an Evernote Notebook and also use it to post automatically post information on a variety of services. The iOS app adds to this functionality by allowing you to take various actions on your phone and triggering IFTTT actions whenever they occur. In the case of the iPhone, initiating actions can include adding new contacts to your iPhone, taking a new picture and more.  For more complete information on how IFFTT works, visit ifttt.com    From the iTunes App Store... " Put the internet to work for you. IFTTT lets y

This DIY domino clock tells the time using three LED-lit tiles via Arduino Blog

After coming across Carbon Design Group’s Domino Wall Clock, which uses electronic magnetic coil motors to reveal white dots, Instructables member “Kothe” decided to create a simplified version of their own. The clock is comprised of three custom dominoes — the first tile for hours, the second and third for minutes. Unlike its inspiration, Kothe’s device uses addressable RGB LEDs as dots that allow for a variety of colors to shine through. Read This DIY domino clock tells the time using three LED-lit tiles via Arduino Blog An interesting link found among my daily reading